It sounds like the sort of show designed to whip up a public furore, yet the team behind Jihad: The Musical claim that nothing was further from their minds. Their 'all-singing, all-dancing madcap gallop' through the world of Islamic terrorism is simply an attempt to keep up morale amid the security threat, they say.

The show, with music written by an old Etonian and an international cast of seven, has its world premiere at one of the Edinburgh Festival's major fringe events next month, but it is already the target of a campaign to prevent any performances taking place. The idea of a light-hearted entertainment about terror being staged so soon after the bomb attack on Glasgow has upset a growing group of protesters.

Jihad: The Musical tells the story of a 'hapless Afghan peasant' who falls into the hands of would-be jihadi terrorists and includes barnstorming numbers such as 'I Wanna Be Like Osama' alongside the more romantic 'I Only See Your Eyes'. The content of the show may well be irreverent, featuring as it will a pink burkha-wearing chorus line touting automatic weapons, but before the curtain even goes up a petition has been launched calling for a ban on the production.

The Prime Minister should 'condemn the tasteless portrayal of terrorism and its victims in Jihad: The Musical', urges the protest on the government's petition website, going on to say: 'The idea of making light of Muslim extremism is extremely offensive, most especially for its victims. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival promotes such "artistic licence" without due consideration for those parties who may be offended by this "musical".'

The cast of the show arrived from New York this weekend and stepped straight into an Edinburgh row.

Although they were aware of the sensitive subject matter of the show, the British writer of the book and lyrics, Zoe Samuel, confirmed that the company, Silk Circle Productions, believed that their romp around 'the wacky world of international terrorism' would appeal to the British tradition of laughing in the face of adversity. The idea was to invoke 'the Blitz spirit, to laugh at those who seek to intimidate'.

Samuel, 25, who grew up in London and has worked in Los Angeles and New York, points out that a 'sneak preview' video clip on the YouTube website of the song 'I Wanna be Like Osama' has, so far, had many more visitors than the petition has signatories. 'The petitioners don't have an accurate understanding of the show,' she said. 'We invite anyone who has signed it to come along to see it. It is important to know the main theme of the show is humour in the face of a difficult situation.'

Samuel co-wrote Jihad: The Musical with Ben Scheuer, an ex-Etonian Harvard graduate she met in America. The show is her first full-length musical, but Scheuer's fourth. 'He wrote the music and I wrote the book, but we worked on the lyrics together. I have a great admiration of his talent.'

The lyrics to the Osama song speak of a desire to 'bomb a path across the world' in order to be 'Islamically renowned'.

Samuel says the musical has been well received by all the Muslims who have read the script and that several professional Muslim comedians working in New York were interested in performing in it.

American employment law has prevented her asking her cast about their faith, Samuel explains, but they are a mixed-race ensemble.

In response to calls for the show to be closed down before its opening night on Wednesday, James Lawler, the show's producer, has said: 'We have no intention of causing offence or insult with this show. It is simply a comedy musical, following the British tradition of high-kicking, high-spirited, musical theatre, about a fictional Afghan poppy farmer who falls in love with the wrong person and finds himself caught in a dilemma.'

He goes on to argue that 'like all good comedy', the show 'touches, very lightly, on a current-day topic that people can relate to, connects it with humour and, like the proverb, makes the best of a bad situation'.

The plot sees its hero, Sayid al-Boom, 'lured by a veiled, poppy-exporting femme fatale' into the lair of a band of jihadis. He is then manipulated by a sinister reporter and so caught, emblematically speaking, 'between the terrorists and bloodthirsty global media'. Help apparently finally turns up in the form of 'a surrender-prone Frenchman' and his sister. The posters for the show bear the tag-line 'The West shall not be won (again) so long as we have a high-kicking chorus line'.

'Great care has been taken to ensure that the utmost respect is provided to the faiths and cultures it incorporates,' said Lawler in a statement defending the show. 'This has been achieved through some very skilful and tactful writing. Clearly the petitioners have not seen the show as their knowledge of the content would appear to be incorrect, rendering their petition inflammatory and highly unnecessary.'

The arrival of the musical on the Edinburgh Fringe this week will underline a growing interest in tackling the potentially provocative subject of fundamentalist Islam among comedians and performers. Government moves to prevent the incitement of religious hatred have recently served to draw more attention to the subject from writers and stand-up comics in general.

There has also been a new influx of comedy talent from India, Pakistan and the Middle East. The faces of stand-ups such as Omid Djalili and Shazia Mirza are frequently seen on television, while newer acts such as Paul Sinha and Shappi Khorsandi are hard on their heels. These comics are not necessarily Muslim, even by birth, but the fact they say they are mistaken for Muslims offers them a kind of protection when they perform contentious material.